Here to receive the Proclamation is Francheska Martinez, Naimad Delgado and the Members of both Schools SWAT Clubs (George Jenkins and Polk State Collegiate).
The federal government has declared youth e-cigarette use, or vaping, a nationwide epidemic. While conventional cigarette use has reached an all-time low, e-cigarette use has increased at an alarming rate. In Polk County, one in eight middle and high school students reported current e-cigarette use. E-cigarettes are unsafe and typically contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. The health effects and potentially harmful doses of heated and aerosolized constituents of e-cigarette liquids, including solvents, flavorants, and toxicants are unsafe and are available in a variety of flavors, including many that are especially appealing to youth. Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) in Polk County are standing up to the e-cigarette industry, declaring that they are “not lab rats” for the addiction and harms of e-cigarettes.